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Abstract #2355

Brain-to-brain communication channels and information content

Ray Lee1, Paul Sajda2, and Nim Tottenham3
1Radiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States, 2Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States, 3Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States

Synopsis

Keywords: fMRI Analysis, Brain

Motivation: Most fMRI studies on brain-to-brain interactions focus on synchrony between two brains. However, such correlations merely suggest the existence of communication channels, not the information communicated in the channels.

Goal(s): Our goal is to identify both communication channels and communicated information.

Approach: A hyperscan fMRI study was conducted on parent-child eye-contact. The brain-to-brain network interaction was decomposed into multiple channels by Correspondence Analysis; the information flows in each channel were quantified by mutual information (MI).

Results: Two channels were significant: one is dyadic visual link where bi-directional MIs are about the same; another is social cognition link, where parent-to-child information flow is predominant.

Impact: A novel approach was developed to identify both brain-to-brain network communication channels and the information content in each channel. The characteristics of the channels and the information flows in parent-child eye-contact quantify both social interaction and children’s brain developmental stages.

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Keywords